When I first got into hammocks, I went all in. Had to have all the "buzzword gear". Don't get me wrong, they all seem to work, but what I have used just complicated things and had me keeping up with all kinds of small items.
My biggest example is Whoopie Slings. Yes they are lightweight. But as I sat back and thought about it, I'm still using the tree straps that came with my Blackbird and Traveler hammocks to connect the whoopie slings. Brandon's system works great and is all in one except the choice of biners or dutch clips (more on those later). With the whoopies I needed to add a toggle. So I cut some good dowel rods and sanded and smoothed them out and they work great. But you still have to keep up with them when you pack out. They are one more thing to think about. So now I have cut the weight of the whoopies, wood dowels, and dutch clips and at the same time have less to keep up with. Yes, I know the carabiners add back some weight, but they are quite light themselves.
Dutch clips are an amazing invention. Had to have them. Light, durable, ingenious. With that said, I have gone back to carabiners. They don't have to be sewn on to keep up with them better. Clip them to anything and they stay. If you don't sew the dutch clips, you have to keep up with them along with the toggles. I saw a post about a new version, so maybe that issue is not an issue anymore. Again, just what works for me.
Tarp flys - AWESOME - can't live without them. Put them on and forget them. Light, easy, can't lose them, never think about them.
I should have just gotten the BB to begin with to be able to fore-go another sack for the bug net.
Maybe others have ideas that I have not thought about. I am interested to read everyone's thoughts and opinions.
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